Modern Vespa

On my way home from work, I usually go through one of the parks in Louisville. The speed limit is 25 and I like the park for many reasons. One the scenery plus it gives me a place to practice slow turns under a variety of conditions.

While I was riding through the park this nutcase in a car came flying up behind me. He was within a few inches of the back of my scooter and I new when we got to the next straight stretch he was going to pull something stupid. He passed in a no passing zone and spit my lane as well. Unfortunately for him I got his license number and the cops here are on a campaign against aggressive drivers due to some serious accidents recently. I always travel with my cell phone so I called in the details including the fact that he was ripping through the park at around 50 plus. I do hope the cops get that nut off the road before he kills or seriously injures someone.

Just one more reason to be extra careful out there.

I always pull over for that type...let them do whatever they want...ahead of you. You'll never win a crash with them.

I want to spray Wesson oil into the path of their windshied but I think your answer is right.

Scoots and bikes never win against cars (oops, "cages," still learning the lingo.) You did the best you can, report them and let the law deal with them. Frustrating, yes - but then you can tell us about it rather than take a trip to the hospital, or worse.

You know how crazy drivers are the first few days of spring? It's like that here right now. Haven't figured out it's the beautiful fall weather, or drivers using their vehicles to vent their frustration over the current economic crisis.

I'm not sure what it is here tnruss but I have noticed drivers becoming more violent this year. Perhaps it is that I am a little closer to the action than when I drove my truck all the time. The police here have taken notice and have actually been asking people to call in about aggressive drivers. The dispatcher I talked to today thanked me for reporting the incident, which kind of caught me by suprise, it actually sounded like they were going to make an effort to get this lunatic off the road.

Well at least I am still standing. I'm going out early for a ride in the morning to do some fall color photographs before going to work. Not going to let some nutcase ruin my fun. 8)

I truly hate miserable drivers - ask Curt about that one

They have a miserable day/week/month/life - whatever - and they feel the need to spread it to those around them - never fun - best idea is to get out of the way

Well done on the reporting!

I live on the parkway system here in Minneapolis (it's 25mph) and I have been passed on more than 1 occasion while going 30 - it seems like everyone is in a hurry everywhere...

It is a full moon right now. Always brings out the wierdos.

It is a full moon right now. Always brings out the wierdos.

Oh well, you got the first one out of the way (safely, thank goodness).

There will be lots more encounters to follow as the number of nutcases on the road grows exponentially month by month.

the thing that annoys me the most about urban nutcases is that i will invariably pull ahead of them in the queue at a traffic light - really makes me wonder why they go to all the trouble of passing me in the first place as it makes absolutely no difference in the long run.

http://tinyurl.com/4usgrs

This is a link to the pictures of a CB250. The rider is a member of my Yahoo group. He was sandwiched between two pickups while sitting at a traffic light. One of his ankles was broken in three places. Other injuries consisted of soreness and bruising. He was VERY lucky.

Remember, a crash is a "WHEN" not an "IF". It's up to each of us to do all we can to keep the injuries small ones.

--BNS

You can say that again! Oh wait, you did.

The most effective strategy I've found when dealing with nuts on the road is to take out my camera and start taking pictures. I've done this before to cagers who were being overly aggro, and they backed off right away and gave me no more trouble. I have a point and shoot with a sturdy cord that I can hang around my neck. I simply pick it up with my left hand while riding, push the button to turn it on, then just point it and shoot pictures. I should say that I can't recommend this for just anyone though, it does take a good deal of concentration, coordination and practice to get good enough to do it and ride safely at the same time. But if you're nimble enough to master this technique, I highly recommend using this strategy to neutralize any threats from road ragers.

I think what makes this so effective is because road ragers only seem to focus on themselves and whoever they're raging against. They forget that there are other people on the road, that there could be witnesses to what they're doing, etc. But when you flash a camera in their face, it makes them think - wait a minute, there's going to be evidence of the stupid things I'm doing - which makes them think twice and decide to back off, diffusing the situation instead of escalating it. Personally, I think that's about the best outcome you can hope for, when you're in that position.

Of course, there's no guarantee that this would be 100% effective every time, but I suspect it should work in a lot of cases. Good luck and be safe out there!